


Take Care Of My Heart

by curadhstark, professional_benaddict



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Play, Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Chronic Illness, Doctor Stephen Strange - Freeform, Doctor Tony Stark, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Littles Are Known, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Nurse Natasha Romanov, Nurse Steve Rogers, Past CG Quentin Beck, Peter is Smol and Lonely and Sick, Sick Peter Parker, Tony wants to be his Daddy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 12:01:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22849828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curadhstark/pseuds/curadhstark, https://archiveofourown.org/users/professional_benaddict/pseuds/professional_benaddict
Summary: Peter is a chronically ill Little and has been in and out of hospital most of his life, without a CG by his side to support him. Tony, his primary doctor, is getting really uneasy with the reality of Peter being without a CG and wants to do something about it. But, will Beck have something to say about that? Can Tony be Peter's doctor and his Daddy at the same time?
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Past Peter Parker/Quentin Beck, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Stephen Strange, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker/Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Stephen Strange
Comments: 69
Kudos: 448





	1. Morning Rounds

It was 9:32 AM, and Peter was clock-watching. He fiddled hopelessly with his thumbs over the bedsheets, looking up at the clock, then towards the door, then down to his hands, and the cycle repeated. Doctor Stark was two minutes late for the boy's morning check-up, and Peter was getting more and more nervous with each second that passed. Not even cuddling his bunny rabbit stuffie, Bonbon, could settle his nerves. It was not that he was afraid of his illness, it was that he was afraid he would not get to see the doctor today. Peter was always in and out of hospital, and the doctor was what made the trips bearable. 9:35 AM, and no sign of Doctor Stark.

Being a caregiver, and more specifically a Little surgeon, had its perks. Tony got just as many drawings and little gifts as the paediatric staff on the floor below, or maybe more, and Tony would swear on his life that he had never had a troublesome Little patient. They were all like precious little lambs to him that he wanted to protect and care for till he dropped dead on his feet. That is how dedicated he is to his job. But, there are some downsides, but that only concerns the caregivers. Most are good, some are not. And a handful are terrible and make Tony’s job of saving and treating Littles much harder than it has to be. And this caregiver is really making it hard for him on this morning. 

“Ms Johnson, I’m very sorry, but we’ll have to continue this another time. If you head to the nurses’ station, they can help you set up an appointment with me during consultation hours. But, I really have to go now-”

“Doctor Stark-” 

“No, I’m sorry. I have to go.” The doctor stressed and continued to walk down the hall, sighing heavily as he rounded the corner and Ms Johnson was not near him anymore. They had been arguing for twenty minutes already, and Ms Johnson had shown no sign of stopping, so the doctor had no choice but to cut her off abruptly before he was starting to neglect all his other patients. Checking his watch, Tony cursed under his breath and started jogging lightly through the halls. A nurse he passed on the way asked if there was a code, but there was not. He was just late to see his favourite patient.

It was now 9:41 AM, and Peter was rapidly losing hope of seeing Doctor Stark today. He was never late, especially not this late, and so in the small boy's mind he immediately assumed that something had happened and that he would be seen by another doctor instead. Those days were rare, but he still hated them very much. The boy stopped clock-watching and brought his attention to Bonbon who sat in his lap, and began fiddling with her ears as he always did when he was this nervous. He was glumly flapping her ears about like a bird's wings until the sound of the ward door opening startled the boy into looking up. His face lit up as he realised that it was Doctor Stark, his cheeks almost aching with how much he was smiling.

“Hi, I’m sorry, I got held back a bit, but I’m here now. Did you wait for a long time?” Tony asked, and instead of grabbing the boy’s chart and getting to work, the doctor went to sit down on the boy’s bedside, like always. Peter shrugged at the question, but he was still beaming mostly. 

“Nuh uh... jus' a lil' bit.” The boy said, then held up his bunny stuffie. “Bon... Bonny doesn't like waitin' much, but... she's happy now.” He mumbled, flopping the stuffie's ears before bringing it to his chest and cuddling it gently. He could not help gazing at the doctor happily, looking over each of the man's facial features intently like he was trying to memorise them. The doctor had such deep brown eyes and a gentle smile, and it made Peter feel safe in a way that he did with only a handful of people in his life.

“Oh, I’m glad to hear that. And how is Bonny today?” Tony asked and finally grabbed the chart from the bottom of the boy’s bed, flipping through to the notes since he got off last night. He still remained on the bedside, which was intimate in a hospital setting and considering their roles, but Tony still chose to sit. And from what he could tell by Peter’s heart rate slowing, his patient seemed to like it too.

“Hmm... she's good. Bored in here.” Peter said, glancing nervously at the doctor as he spoke. He hoped that the doctor knew that Peter did not find him boring, just staying in the ward with not many other people visiting him and not much to do as he could not get out of bed with all the wires and tubes. He would have to call one of the nurses if he needed to get up, but most times they made it in before he even got to pushing the button, as if they could read his mind. “We finished the colouring book... Wanna see?” Peter asked. He did not want to admit that he had tried his hardest to colour within the lines and use nice colours just so that he could show it to the doctor.

“Oh, absolutely!” Tony grinned, and with genuine excitement at that. There was just something about his Little patients, and this one in particular, that got his endorphins going crazy. While Peter found his colouring book from the side table, the doctor finished reading through the notes from the nurses on call during the night. Peter’s vitals had been perfect, for his condition at least, and there was nothing special to note. From experience, Tony knew that nighttime was the most risky for cardiac patients like Peter.

The boy smiled brightly at the man's excited response, and so did not hesitate in pulling the colouring book out of the top drawer. Peter handed it over to the doctor once he seemed to be done looking over his notes, and Peter wiggled his toes as he waited to see how the man would react to his drawings. 

“This one's my fav’wite…” The boy mumbled, pointing to a picture of a sunny meadow with an apple tree stood off to the right. He nearly ran the green colouring pencil into the ground trying to colour the grass.

“Wow, you’ve done such a good job with these! And look- these are so tiny and yet you stayed inside the lines.” Tony said as he studied the page Peter pointed to. He lifted his gaze back up to meet Peter’s eyes, and for a few seconds, he did not see a patient with a serious heart condition, but just a boy who was good at colouring. And even further, Tony imagined himself at his side as a Daddy-

“These are brilliant, Peter.” Tony commented as he got pulled back into reality by the sounds of talking voices in the hall. Tony recognised the voice as Strange’s, and it all reminded him of his role. “So, Bonny’s been all right. And how about you? The nurses didn’t write anything besides good vitals in your chart.” 

Peter's initial nerves at what the doctor would say evaporated when the man began praising him. His face was now aching with how brilliantly he was smiling, and he wriggled in his bed with excitement. He wanted to talk more about his colouring, to explain about how he liked colouring the sky because he used his favourite shade of blue, but suddenly the conversation turned back to his health and the boy deflated a little bit. 

“Uhm... 'm okay. Nuffin' bad. Jus'... yeah. Good.” He nodded.

“Hmm, that’s good.” Tony said and patted Peter’s thigh before rising. The comforting pat to Peter's thigh made a light pink dusting appear across the boy's cheeks. He desperately wished for more contact comfort from the doctor, but knew that it was not possible.

“No shortness of breath? No chest pains? Any weird palpations or shakiness?” Tony listed as he grabbed his stethoscope to have a listen. After being Peter’s primary doctor at the hospital for over five years, they moved perfectly in sync as Peter lay back and Tony slipped the bell of the stethoscope under the collar of his gown.

“Uhm... nuh uh. Jus'... it felt fast but then- then it stopped when you came.” The boy mumbled, referring to his nerves when the doctor was late not ten minutes ago.

“Hmm.” Tony hummed thoughtfully, making a mental note to check Peter’s ECG during the mentioned timeframe. The two of them remained silent for a while, allowing Tony to listen to Peter’s valves and then his breathing. Finally, he pulled back with a smile. “Everything sounds great. Ready for the squeeze now.” He asked, leaning over to push the button that would automatically get the boy’s blood pressure measured.

Peter nodded in anticipation of the squeeze. As the cuff constricted around his arm, he let out a startled giggle and looked over at Tony. No matter how many times the boy got his blood pressure measured, which was multiple times a day, the squeeze always made the boy laugh from how weird it felt. In his other hand, he took hold of Bonbon's arm and also squeezed it so that she would feel a similar sensation.

Tony watched with a soft smile as Peter handled his stuffie, who had been through all of Peter’s treatments, except for the ones that had to be carried out with sterile technique or even in the OR. Luckily, Peter had not needed cardiac surgery again since the one he had as a child. The scar from that was faint and light pink by now. 

“100/70, that’s perfect.” The doctor commented once the measurement came out.

“Yay! We got perfect!” Peter squeaked to his stuffie, bringing her back into his arms for a cuddle. He smiled up at Doctor Stark, his toes wiggling with excitement beneath the bedsheets once more. “What now?” He asked. Even though he and the doctor went through the same routine each day, he liked having Doctor Stark explain each procedure as they happened. It made him feel safer, like the doctor knew what he was doing, and the deep timbre of Stark's voice was soothing to the boy.

“Now, I’ll check your tummy, and maybe tickle it a bit too.” Tony said with a smile and pulled back the covers to expose the boy’s abdomen, then lifted his gown as well. Much like Littles in general, the boy was wearing cartoon themed boxers, but the doctor tried not to stare too much. The boy’s main health concern was naturally his heart, but after caring for Peter for so long, Tony knew that Peter sometimes also experienced some stomach troubles, so a few years ago he had added that to the daily checks. “Let me know if anything hurts.” The doctor instructed, as always before starting with his palpations. 

Peter giggled in response, and squirmed a little when Doctor Stark began pressing his fingertips against his abdomen. He laid back against the bed, his chestnut curls fanning out against his pillow as he stared up at the ceiling and waited for the doctor to finish what he was doing. It took a minute or so, as the doctor went from pressing gently against his tummy to gliding his fingertips along it lightly to tickle the boy. Peter squealed with laughter, his face turning pink, and wriggled where Stark's fingers tickled him.

“Good boy.” Tony finally said as he pulled back, more or less finished with his exam now. He just had to check the ECG and then he would be on his way. Not so surprisingly, Tony felt his shoulders slump just a bit in sadness at the thought of leaving Peter. While waiting for the ECG to print out, Tony watched Peter stroke Bonbon’s ears lovingly. The stuffie was worn out, which actually meant it was well loved. But, the doctor’s smile faded as he looked at the ECG.

Peter hummed gently to himself as he played with Bonbon, rubbing his fingertips against her fur and flattening the bits that stuck up from her ears. Every time he looked up, Doctor Stark was staring intently at the ECG, and Peter's heart sank just a little bit. He wanted the doctor to look at him all the time, to care for him all day like this, but that was not how it worked. Five years taught him that the ECG meant the end of their time together for the day, and he dreaded the last few beeps of the machine as it printed out his results.

“Peter, I have to schedule an echo for you.” Tony started. After being a doctor for so long, he knew the importance of transparency and honesty, even with Little patients. White lies would quickly turn into much larger ones, so the only fair thing to do was to be honest. Even if it hurt. “I doubt it is something serious, but I can see some odd rhythms here from this morning and I’d like to have that checked out closer, all right?” The doctor comforted, putting his hand on Peter’s thigh again.

Peter peered at the paper that Stark had in his hands, and could see little spikes drawn along it. He knew that it was from being nervous about the doctor being late to his checkup, but the boy did not want to admit that as it was embarrassing. So, he simply chewed on his lip and nodded his head. The doctor’s large, warm hand on his leg made him smile a little bit, and he only wished that the touch lasted longer between them. “Can Bonbon come too?” He asked, holding up his dear bunny. He hated procedures where he did not get to have his stuffie with him. 

“Yes, of course she can.” Tony smiled and folded up the ECG to put it in Peter’s chart. “I’ll go set up the echo right away, then I’ll come check up on you later today. Is there anything else, Pete?” The doctor asked finally like usual, giving Peter the chance to say whatever he had on his mind.

Peter felt a rush of excitement when Doctor Stark said he would be coming back to check on him later in the day, but he still did not want the doctor to leave. He began fiddling with Bonbon’s ears again, and a few moments of silence passed between them. 

“D-Do you have t’uh go? We- I wanna show you my colourin’...” Peter asked nervously, looking over to where the book was laid open on his bedside table. It was like Peter was stabbing Tony right in his heart with his sweet tone of voice. It tore at the doctor’s heartstrings, and he swallowed a bit before answering, giving himself some time to come up with a good answer. 

“No, I’m afraid I can’t now, buddy. I still have rounds to finish before 10 AM, but I’ll see you for your echo. And Bonbon, too.” He added, and before he could stop himself, he bent down to plant a soft kiss on the boy’s head. It felt wrong, but equally right as well. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

Peter drew his bottom lip between his teeth when Doctor Stark said he had to leave. The kiss to his forehead was a complete surprise, and the boy squeaked when he felt the older man’s lips press against his skin. Instantly his face flushed a bright red, so bright that he knew there was no way the doctor would not notice it. 

“Mhm…” He hummed, not trusting his voice to say anything. Now more than ever, he wanted the man to be his CG.


	2. Cardiac Ultrasound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Just wanted to thank you guys for all the support already c: it really means a lot to us and we hope you enjoy our little five part story xx

The ultrasound procedure was surprisingly pleasant, even though it did not involve good news at the end. The conversation flowed easily in the dimly lit room while Tony moved the probe over Peter’s heart, zooming into his valves where he found the reason for the arrhythmia he saw on the ECG. 

“Your right atrium has been weakened.” Tony said, and pointed to the black and white screen, although Peter could not see much when he was positioned on his side, with his back to the doctor. “But, we can go in with a tube through your thigh and freeze the affected area to fix that easily.” The doctor explained simply, not bothering with worrying Peter too much with more details about the cardiac catheterisation procedure. The boy has had many before, so it is familiar to him. But, the cryotherapy involved is a new aspect. 

“Fuh-F’weeze?” Peter asked nervously. He could not move from where he was laid, and so could not see where the man was pointing. It sounded complicated to the boy, but he knew that he could trust the doctor. “'S gonna be all cold…” He mumbled to himself, his fingertips rubbing at the fur on the ends of Bonbon's ears as he held her close to him. Tony chuckled and pulled back the probe, then took Peter’s hip to guide him onto his back on the exam bed so that they could have eye contact. 

“Well, yes, but it is going to be tiny, tiny, so you won’t even feel it. It is going to be smaller than this even.” Tony said and made a small circle with his thumb and index finger. “By freezing the weaker muscles, it will kill it and then the healthy muscles will take over, so then your heart will beat normally again. Do you wanna be real sleepy for it this time as well?” The doctor asked, since Peter had had similar procedures before, and the boy had always chosen the most sedation possible. Peter peered at the circle that the doctor was making with his fingers. It did seem small, but Peter nodded in response to the man’s question. 

“Mhm. Me ‘n Bon sleep.” He said. He tried not to stare at the doctors other hand, which was still pressing lightly on his hip. If the doctor noticed he was doing it, he might take the hand away, and Peter did not want that.

“All right, then we’ll sort that out.” Tony assured and patted Peter’s hip before grabbing some tissues to wipe away the excess gel on his chest. He did so carefully and thoroughly, keeping his free hand on the boy’s tummy since he knew that Littles relied on physical touch for comfort and reassurance. “Do you have any other questions about the procedure? It’s gonna be almost identical to the last cardiac catheterisation you had.”

Peter smiled as Doctor Stark’s hand moved from his hip to his tummy, and he squirmed as the doctor wiped his chest clean. 

“Will- Will you be there?” The boy asked almost immediately. He did not like having procedures done if Stark was not with him.

“I’ll be the one doing it, handsome.” Tony smiled, then helped Peter into a sitting position on the bed, then let him adjust for a second. Everything had to be slow and easy with cardiac patients. 

“Yay!” Peter clapped, taking the man’s hand to be helped into a sitting position on the table. His sock-clad feet dangled off the edge and he swung them back and forth. “And- and I get popsicles after? Lemon ones? Bon likes the lemon ones bestest.” The boy reached for his bunny and set her on his lap, carefully brushing the fur out of her little plastic eyes so she could see properly.

“I’ll tell the nurses that Your Highness wants the lemon popsicles.” Tony smiled and laughed along with Peter when he giggled at the title. “You ready to get up?” The doctor asked, then helped Peter down from the table and into the wheelchair he had been wheeled in with to the ultrasound room. Peter grabbed tightly onto the doctor’s hand as he was helped into his wheelchair, his other holding tightly onto his stuffie. 

“I- I'm king! King of the- the hospital, 'n... 'n Bon's my princess.” He said, holding the stuffie up as Stark moved to get behind the wheelchair. “A-And then you can be my knight, 'n... 'n you protect me from the- the evil d’wagons.” He mumbled, looking over his shoulder at the doctor as they started leaving the ultrasound room.

“Tony’s a knight?”

There were only a handful of people who referred to Tony by first name, and Tony’s guess turned out to be right when he saw Natasha appear from behind him. 

“Apparently I am. And this is His Majesty the King, Peter, who shall be taken back to his chambers now.” Tony played along and let the nurse take hold of the wheelchair. 

“As you command, Sir Tony.” Nat smirked, making Tony roll his eyes playfully.

Peter also turned to look when he heard a female voice from behind them, and smiled shyly at Natasha when she came closer. However, his smile faltered when he realised that Stark was letting go of the wheelchair and letting Natasha take over. He was always taught not to make a fuss, but he desperately wanted to cry out for the doctor and keep him with him. He turned back with Bonbon on his lap, and glumly fiddled with her ears as he was pushed back in the direction of the ward.

“I’ll see you later, Peter!” The doctor called out and waved to the boy as Natasha brought him down the hall. The doctor knew the boy was in good hands, and was hooked up to far too many monitors for anything serious to go unnoticed. But, still Tony had an ache in his chest that did not seem to go away as he went to schedule Peter’s procedure for the next day.

As Peter was wheeled back to his room in the ward, he was kept distracted from the pang in his chest by Natasha's small talk. He nodded along to what the nurse was saying, but then squealed when he saw who was sat by his bed as they entered his room. 

“MJ!” Peter smiled brightly. MJ was his best friend, who also happened to be a caregiver. Not his caregiver, though. She could not care for him as she had other priorities such as school, and it was rare that she even had time to come and visit most days. The girl smiled in response and helped Natasha lift Peter out of the wheelchair and back into his bed. “Missed you.” He said to MJ as Natasha hooked the boy back up to the various machines around his bed and then headed off.

“Hi, Peter!” MJ said again, once Peter was all settled in bed again and the nurse left them alone. For a few moments, MJ just studied her friend and smiled at him brightly. “You look well.” She pointed out with a smile still on her lips. Last time she had had time to visit, Peter had been in observation at the cardiovascular ICU after going into V-fib. It had been a tough week, the nurses told her then, but Peter always seems to manage to pull through. Still, it has been quite scary and MJ had to go through an exam at school while worrying about her friend at the back of her mind.

“I’ve been okay.” Peter shrugged. “I just had an- an echo, Doctuh Stark looked at my heart.” He said, pointing to his chest. Even though MJ was a caregiver, he did not feel comfortable enough in her presence to completely regress. As such, he was more aged-up when he spoke to her. “Said something’s wrong with, uh... the right ay-chee-um. He’s gonna fix it though, he said he will.” He explained, moving his stuffie under the covers so he could focus on MJ. “Boring here, though. Always boring.”

“Wait, like a valve or something? That doesn’t sound too good.” MJ grimaced a bit, but was not too worried since Peter was sat up right and looked a healthy shade of pink. You could say Peter had not always been like that. “But, I guess it doesn’t really matter when the doctors are going to fix it.” She smiled, when she remembered that Peter probably did not like explaining complicated medical things while regressed. Or maybe not at all. There was a reason why Littles did not have to graduate high school after all.

Peter nodded in response. 

“Doctor Stark always fixes everything.” The boy said quietly, glancing out at the ward before looking back at MJ. “How’s, uhm, how’s school?” He asked, settling down a little bit against his pillows. He liked when MJ told him about her school work. He did not have to go to school, and if he was honest he did not want to, but it was always nice hearing about MJ’s classes and the people in her classes. It made Peter feel a little more included, like he was part of whatever was happening outside of the hospital walls.

“Oh! I uhm- I passed that biology exam I told you about last time. Or- well, the time I was here before you got really sick. But, yeah! I passed, so I don’t have to retake that one.” MJ beamed, then further explained the school system and how the exams and grades worked. “And Ned says he’ll come visit during the summer when he comes back home. He really misses you.” 

“Oh yay!” Peter grinned, first at the fact at MJ passed her exam, then at the idea of Ned coming to visit. “I miss him too. I miss him ‘n Legos.” He admitted, pursing his lips. He did not get to play with Legos much in the hospital, especially not the big kits that Ned always brought when Peter was at home and his friend came to visit. He was about to say something else, but then the door of the ward opened and Peter immediately looked over to see who had come in.

“Oh, we have a visitor!” Tony smiled when he saw MJ sat by Peter’s bed. The two of them had met before twice, so the doctor gave her a friendly smile and asked how she was doing. 

“I was just telling Peter about school and such. And that Ned is coming back for the summer. He’s studying in Florida.” 

“Oh, Ned, yes. I remember him. The one with all the Legos right? I think Nat actually told me about a huge bunch of legos she had to clean up one time. Was that him then?”

Peter was not expecting to see Doctor Stark so soon, so it felt like excited butterflies erupted in his stomach at the sight of the man. Even just having the man in the room made Peter feel safer, and he could feel himself slipping back down into Littlespace despite MJ also being in the room. 

“H-Hi...” Peter smiled shyly at the doctor, and blushed at the story about the mess he and Ned had inadvertently made one time when trying to construct a Lego castle in the ward. 

“Yeah, that was him.” MJ nodded, and out of the corner of her eye she could spot the boy in the bed becoming more... boyish. It was not exactly a surprise, as Peter took any and every opportunity to talk about his doctor, but it was interesting to see that he felt comfortable enough around him to truly regress, something he had not been able to achieve since Beck.

“Well- I just came in to let you know that I’ve arranged for the procedure tomorrow at 11 AM. So, Nat will be here an hour or so before to get you ready, okay?” Tony informed, not going into detail about what kind of procedure was happening, just in case Peter did not want MJ to know. But, he knew the two of them were close enough for Peter to feel comfortable about his condition in front of his friend. MJ turned to Peter to hear his reply to the doctor, and paid close attention to how he replied.

“Mhm...” Peter nodded, the blush still on his cheeks. His toes wiggled slowly underneath the bedsheets, a sure sign that he was now younger than before. “Can- Can Bon come?” He asked for the fiftieth time, just to make sure and to hear Doctor Stark’s voice again.

“Yes, she can come along.” Tony assured again with the same comforting smile. MJ furrowed her brow just a bit, but did not say anything as not to disrupt the moment her friend and his doctor were apparently having. The young woman’s confused expression did not go unnoticed by the doctor, and fearing some kind of argument, he decided to end visiting hours there. “Peter needs his rest before tomorrow, MJ, but you are more than welcome to drop by again later.” He said, which was also an excuse to get MJ to follow him out into the hall.

“Awh...” Peter pouted, not wanting MJ to leave just yet. He supposed the doctor was right though, so he shuffled down in his bed as MJ stood up from the chair beside him. “Bye, MJ...!” He waved to the girl, who smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair in response before heading out of the ward behind the doctor. As she turned to take one last glance at Peter, she saw him pull his stuffie out from under the covers and begin playing with its ears, and MJ knew he was back to being Little again. As the door swung shut, she spun on her heel to face the doctor. 

“He seems comfortable around you.” She said, an eyebrow raised.

“Uhm...” Tony was a little taken aback at the comment at first, not knowing which implication to go with right away. But, he chose a safe one. “I’ve been his primary doctor for the last five years, so I hope he would be comfortable around me, yeah. Makes the job easier.” He shrugged, but based on MJ’s eyebrow still being raised, she was not buying it. Perhaps she was implying something else…

“Right.” MJ nodded, still unconvinced. “It's just that, you know... Natasha's also been working with him for these five years, and I've never seen him... never seen him with her like he is with you, you know? And he sure as hell doesn't act the same way around me, and I've known him for ten years.” She said, leaning one shoulder against the wall of the ward they had just left. “I'm not having a go at you, I'm just- I want him to be safe. And happy. I haven't seen him act like that in a long time, is all.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” Tony smiled, trying not to grin like an idiot at the compliment. That would be unprofessional. “You’re really good with him, too. I can see that he likes having you around. You’re like his connection to the outer world and he needs that.” The doctor added, as a way to return all the praise and nice words she had given him.

“Yeah, he does.” MJ replied, glancing through the windows of the ward door to see Peter now napping with one of Bonbon's ears in his mouth. She shook her head fondly and looked back at the doctor. “He misses a lot of stuff when he's in here, so I try and keep him up to date on what's happening. He mentioned that you're gonna look at his right atrium, so I guess that'll keep him here even longer.”

“Yeah, there some tissue there that has weakened and causes arrhythmia, so we’ll go in with a catheter and freeze the affected area. Then, the healthy tissue will take over and the arrhythmia should disappear.” The doctor recapped since Peter had already told MJ some of it. “He’ll hopefully be out in a week, but uhm- it might pass faster if you came more often to see him.” Tony hinted at, looking hopeful as he met MJ’s gaze again.

MJ nodded at the description of the procedure, but then winced at the doctor's last sentence. 

“Shit, I... I really would like to but- school's getting really busy lately, it's midterm season so I'm up to my eyeballs in study material. I- I really wish I could come and see him but... I don't think I can.” She explained apologetically, hating that she had to stomp all over the hopeful look in the doctor's eyes.

“Yes, of course.” Tony dismissed easily, wanting to spare MJ any more of the embarrassment and guilt. “You focus on your schoolwork, that is very important.” He added with a smile, then turned momentarily to look at Peter in his bed, pleased to find him fast asleep. Or at least resting. And Bonbon was on the pillow next to him. “Do you know anything about Peter’s CG? I saw a name in his file, but no one else has been to see him besides you and Ned, and his aunt when she can manage.”

MJ’s face dropped at the mention of Peter’s ‘caregiver’. 

“He- You can take that name off Peter’s file. Beck isn’t his CG any more, he walked out on Peter years ago.” She said bitterly. “I’m as close to a CG as he gets these days, and even then I’m not here often enough for him to actually benefit from it, y’know?”

“Wait- he left? What happened?” Tony asked worriedly. He knew very little about Peter’s ‘caregiver’, since he had never actually met him, but also because Peter never talked about him. Luckily, the lack of a caregiver’s to consent does not stop Tony legally from treating Peter, which is a good thing. MJ took a steadying breath before speaking. 

“He was good with Peter at first, but... it all went downhill pretty quickly. Beck didn't want a Little who was so unwell, said that it was beyond his capabilities as a CG, so he just... left. Peter was in bits about it for ages, I had to kinda stand in as his CG for a while and it was awful. He's still... traumatised? I guess? From having his CG walk out on him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't mentioned anything to you. We never talk about him, the guy's as good as dead to us.”

Jesus, Tony thought and looked towards Peter again in his room. He was still in the same position as before, sleeping as peacefully as ever. But, somehow the boy looked different to him now with all this new information. Like a fragile porcelain doll. 

“So, it would be a bad idea for me to confirm this with Peter?” The doctor guessed with a slight frown. It was not that he didn’t trust MJ, but for the paperwork it would be far more trustworthy if he can say that Peter stands by what MJ just told him.

“I mean…” MJ also looked back through the window at the boy. “You can try. He trusts you, so I imagine he'll be more comfortable talking to you about it than anyone else, but don't be surprised if he doesn't want to talk about it. Just- be careful with it, okay?” She requested.

“Of course.” Tony assured with a smile and nod to show that he would be very sensitive and careful about this. The last thing he would want is to upset Peter for real, which would very likely result in a cardiac emergency. “Thank you so much for sharing this with me, MJ. I really do appreciate it.”

“It's nothing, really.” The girl shrugged. “If anything, it would be nice for someone other than me and him to know about it. Maybe it'll make him feel safer about talking about it, if he knows he can tell somebody he truly trusts. I dunno.” MJ said, but the buzzing of her phone pulled her attention away from the ward door. “Shit- I gotta go, my study group's meeting. It was nice speaking to you, and uh- good luck with the procedure tomorrow.”

“Oh, of course.” Tony chuckled when MJ suddenly got flustered when her phone buzzed. He thanked her for the good luck, and watched as she hurried off before looking back at Peter again. Even while fast asleep, the boy still managed to tug on the doctor’s heartstrings, and even more so as he thought of this Beck, and how he had left because having a sick Little became too much. In a way, Tony understood that not everyone could handle a life of constant hospitalisation, but what angered the doctor was that Beck had not arranged for Peter to be adopted by someone else. Instead, he had just left him. Much like MJ, Tony also had to head off when his pager beeped, indicating that he was needed somewhere. The doctor headed off, but Peter and his lack of a caregiver nagged at him all day.


	3. Arrhytmic Episode

It had been three days since the procedure to freeze part of Peter's right atrium, and the boy was now recovering back in the ward. He was getting daily visits from Doctor Stark, and even more from the nurses, but other than that, nobody had come to see him. MJ had explained apologetically that she was not able to visit, May was working nearly every day and Ned was in Florida, so it was not like Peter expected anybody to show up anyway. The boy was currently dozing, with Bonbon tucked under his chin as he slept. Procedures like cardiac catheterisations always made him so tired afterwards, so he was not surprised when his body told him that it was time for a third nap for the day. What the boy was not expecting, however, was a gentle voice coming from the end of his bed. 

“Petey... hey, Pete. C'mon, wake up for me, Petey pie…” 

The boy blinked awake confusedly, and his heart leapt into his throat as he recognised the man stood at the end of his bed.

“Hey! Don’t give me that look.” Beck laughed, but there was some ill intent in his tone when he spoke. “It hasn’t been that long that you can’t recognise me. They still have you in the same room, so it was easy enough finding you.” The man blabbered on despite the boy still looking like he was not entirely on board with the conversation for whatever reason. “Hey, don’t be scared of me, come on...” Beck coaxed further.

Peter could not speak. It had been four years since Beck had left without warning, and suddenly he was back expecting everything to be fine? The boy shook his head, tentatively at first, but then more firmly when Beck started approaching his bedside. He scrambled backwards, his back now pressed against the simple headboard of his hospital bed. 

“Nuh-uh! G-Go away! I- I don't want you, no, go away!” The boy grabbed Bonbon and cuddled her tightly to his chest, over his heart that was now pounding.

“First, you begged me to stay and not you want me to go? They must have got you high or something.” Beck dismissed easily and continued to walk up to the boy’s bedside to see him closer. The fact that Peter seemed to scrambled away, only made Beck more upset and he continued to press on. “Come on now, Pete, don’t be rude. I just want to talk for a bit, okay? Surely they still allow that while keeping you locked away here?”

Peter watched the man with a beady eye as he pulled up a chair to sit by his bedside. As Beck sat down, Peter shuffled sideways along the bed so that he was as far away as he could get without falling off the bed entirely. 

“I- I don't wanna talk. No talking. You go away.” He tried to sound brave and strong, but his voice came out wavering and feeble, and even despite his best efforts he could feel himself getting Littler by the second. Maybe he was not as emotionally recovered as he thought when it came to Beck.

“A Little trying to tell a Daddy what to do? That’s not how it works, doll.” Beck stated and folded one leg over the other as he sat back and watched Peter. “I heard that CGs with sick Littles now can get funding from the Little and CG department. That sounds a lot like us, doesn’t it? How would you like to get 10k a month and spending that on some fun holidays, hm? We could travel the world, doll.”

Peter looked away from the man, his breath hitching in his throat. His heart felt weird, like it was beating out of sync, and the boy did not like it. 

“'m not- you- you're not my duh- Daddy.” Peter said, though it came out as a whisper. He hugged Bonbon even tighter to himself as his eyes started tearing up. He was not sure of himself any more. hHe had gone so long without a caregiver that even Beck was better than nothing, but the man had treated him so poorly that he knew he should not let him back into his life. “Not my Daddy…” He repeated, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself then Beck.

“Peter, come on, you’ve always wanted to see Paris, right? Because of that movie, hm?” Beck continued to try and pressure Peter, but he was interrupted by an alarm. The sound came from the heart monitor, and even Beck knew with his lack of medical knowledge that this was not good. Before he could say anything, a male nurse rushed in and went to Peter immediately, but did spare Beck an odd look. 

“You’ll have to leave, sir.” The nurse, Steve, said matter of factly before talking to Peter. “Hey, hey, sweetie, it’s all right.” A second later, a doctor, Stephen, entered as well and looked at the heart monitor before grabbing his stethoscope from around his neck. 

Peter's heart was now palpitating, and the boy felt a tightness in his chest that only made him whimper and hug his stuffie tighter. Beck was about to hold out a hand to touch him when Steve came in and that sent Peter into a panic. As Doctor Strange also came in, the boy looked over at Beck who still had a calm demeanour. 

“It's alright, I'm his CG.” Beck said easily, to which Peter wanted desperately to prove wrong, but he could barely even speak as his heart thumped irregularly in his chest.

Even though Stephen was not Peter’s primary doctor, he knew enough about the boy to know that it was suspicious how a caregiver had suddenly appeared in his room. And it seemed that his presence was hardly comforting to Peter, so while the doctor listened to the boy’s heart, he glanced back at Beck. 

“You’ll still have to leave, now.” Stephen said with some sternness now before putting his stethoscope back around his neck and then massaging the artery on Peter’s neck in the hopes of it calming the boy’s heart. But, Beck did not go anywhere, and Peter whimpered as his heart skipped particularly hard. 

“I’m sorry, buddy, but we have to put your stuffie aside.” Steve said apologetically and took Peter’s arms from his chest and opened his gown to give them access to his chest. The nurse also lowered the bed a bit and put an oxygen mask on the boy’s face, but Beck was still lingering at the bottom of the bed and looked at Peter closely.

“I can take that…” Beck murmured, leaning to take Bonbon from the nurse's hands as he and the doctor worked to access the boy's chest. Peter could see Beck taking his stuffie from the nurse and let out a soft cry, trying to reach out to get the stuffie back. It was no use however, as Peter was kept laying down on the bed and an oxygen mask was strapped to his face. He began to cry, soft little gasps that slowly ramped up in volume as his heart became more and more uncomfortable in his chest and as Beck stared at him while holding his beloved Bonbon in his hand. 

“Gimme... Gimme Bon- ny! Wan' Bonny, go 'way, gimme!” Peter wailed.

“Shh, buddy, you have to take some deep breaths for us. Try to stay calm and we’ll take care of you.” Stephen comforted while Steve grabbed some drugs that the doctor ordered and injected it into the boy’s central line. However, it had little effect on the boy’s irregular heart rate. Peter continued to cry as he tried to reach for his Bonbon, and his heart showed no sign of calming down. 

“Okay, we gotta shock.” Stephen decided and Steve nodded and lowered the bed to be completely flat. But, before Steve could administer the drug that would knock Peter out for the shocking, Tony burst into the room. Tony had been at another wing in the hospital, so it had taken him some time to reach Peter’s room after receiving the emergency page. 

“Wait! Give another dose of propafenone.” Tony ordered, knowing that would work to avoid the need for an electrical shock to make Peter’s heart rate regular again.

Even though the situation was highly stressful, Beck still looked unfazed and it only made the boy cry harder. Peter barely registered when Doctor Stark came bursting into the room as the arrhythmia really started to make him lightheaded, but he could see Beck taking a step back to let the doctor through. 

“Da…!” Peter whimpered as the doctor's face came into view, and this time he reached for Doctor Stark rather than Bonbon.

“Hey, hey, it’s all right.” Tony soothed and tilted Peter’s head a bit to the side to massage at his artery again while they waited for the propafenone to calm the boy’s heart. Luckily, it had that exact effect and Stephen smiled a bit in relief when the heart monitor showed an even heart rate. 

“We got a sinus rhythm.” The doctor stated and the nurse smiled down at the boy. 

“You were so brave, sweetheart.” Steve soothed, although it probably did not help much considering how scary arrhythmia can be.

Peter whimpered pitifully, and tried to nuzzle his face into the palm of Stark's hand which held his head to one side. He could feel his heart beginning to calm down and fall back into a stable beating pattern, but he still cried gently at how scary the ordeal had been. 

“Hur’…” The boy mumbled, his eyes squeezed shut as he took deep shuddering breaths through the oxygen mask. Beck, meanwhile, was stood to one side watching the entire thing happen, and his blood boiled at the Little being so comfortable with the doctor, a level of comfort that only he should be providing.

“Yeah, I know. It will pass in a bit. You were so brave.” Tony comforted quietly and even bent down a bit to whisper it into Peter’s ear. He wanted the boy to hear him properly while the monitors still beeped loudly and Stephen and Steve continued to converse quickly and in detail about Peter and his condition. Once the situation was more or less taken care of, Stephen turned to Beck again. 

“Sir, you need to leave, now. I’m not asking this time.” Stephen said again to Beck, and finally Tony actually noticed the extra person in the room. With his mind racing, he quickly put the pieces together. 

“You’re Beck.” Tony stated a bit dumbly, with his hand still on the boy’s neck, feeling every beat of his heart under his fingertips.

“Quentin. I'm Peter's CG.” Beck said confidently, holding his hand out for the doctor to shake while his other hand held onto Peter's stuffie. Peter opened up one eye to see Beck still stood over the bed, and when he saw the man was still holding his stuffie, he whined. 

“Bonny... wan' Bonny, gimme- gimme…!” The boy began demanding his stuffie back again, and Beck resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Well, Quentin, I suggest you wait outside and let Peter have Bonny.” Tony said, refusing to shake the man’s hand, but instead held it out expectantly for the bunny stuffie. 

“Family members nor CGs are allowed in during treatments.” Stephen added when Beck did not immediately move. “I’ll show you to the waiting room.”

It had been easy enough for Beck to ignore the first doctor, but now that two of them were telling him to leave, he had no choice. He reluctantly handed the stuffie over to the doctor and under Stephen's watchful eye, he left the ward with the doctor following him. He spared one last glance to Peter, who was glaring at him with shining, tearful eyes, before leaving the room. Once Beck left, Peter immediately broke down into tears again and held his hands out for Bonbon, who was handed back to him by his doctor. Peter hugged the stuffie so tightly that she nearly popped right out of his arms, and mumbled incoherently under his breath about keeping her safe.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Peter.” Tony comforted when Peter finally burst into a proper cry. He had seen it plenty before, that once the scare was over for the Little, the waterworks started. And perhaps it was not just the arrhythmia that was scary, but also Beck’s sudden appearance. The doctor was itching to ask Peter the questions that had been on his mind since talking with MJ, but he knew better than to start asking now. 

“Get him something to relax.” Tony said quietly to Steve, and the nurse obeyed quickly and administered a small dose of a sedative to help Peter calm down. They would rather not stress his heart too much. It took a few minutes, but Peter slowly began to calm down as the sedative took effect. It was not enough to send him off to sleep, just enough for him to stop crying and to settle his heart. He was still sniffling, with his nose running and tears leaking out of his eyes, but he was no longer sobbing like before. However, the boy still had a death grip on his bunny, and rubbed the fur of her ears between his fingertips. He did not have much to say, not when he was so exhausted. 

“There, that’s better.” Tony smiled when Peter finally calmed down and took his stethoscope from around his chest for a listen. “Just gonna check you over, okay? You just relax.” The doctor added and placed the bell on the boy’s chest after warming it up. Meanwhile, Steve gently pulled off the oxygen mask momentarily to dry Peter’s eyes and let him wipe his nose.

Peter laid still for the doctor to check him over, and let the nurse wipe his face. It was a bit childish, even for a Little, but Peter hardly had the energy to lift up his arms. The mask was then placed back on, and he took a few more deep breaths that settled his chest even more as Doctor Stark examined his heart. Every time the doctor moved away even an inch, the boy whined and tried to hold his lab coat with a weak fist to stop him from leaving, and new tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes.

“I’m not going, I’m not.” Tony assured with a smile and patted at the boy’s hand clutching his lab coat. Peter relaxed when Doctor Stark said he was not leaving, but he still kept a hold on the man's lab coat just to make sure. While he continued with his examination, the doctor continued to mutter small praise here and there, as did Steve, to help keep Peter comfortable. After a few moments, Tony concluded that Peter was okay for now, but he would definitely order tests to be sure that the arrhythmia did not cause any damage to his heart.

“I-Is…” Peter started, but was startled at how weak his voice was. “Is he gone…?” He asked, looking to his doctor.

“Do you want him gone?” Tony asked, and honestly he would gladly refuse Beck access to Peter for medical reasons if he had to. His presence simply was not good for Peter’s heart. The boy nodded immediately in response. 

“Don' wan' him... Bad Daddy…” Peter mumbled. “Took my Bon…” The boy pet his stuffie as he spoke, using the tactile sense of her fur to ground himself and stop himself from panicking again by thinking about Beck's presence.

“All right, then I’ll make sure he isn’t allowed in.” Tony said confidently. They have had to deal with many troublesome caregiver and Little relationships at the hospital, so the staff are more than used to the protocol involving ‘black listing’ caregivers temporarily or permanently even. “I’ll even arrange for a knight by the door, hm? How does that sound?”

“Mm…” Peter nodded gently. “But- But you're the knight... protect me from d’wagons…” He said quietly. Meanwhile, he watched as the nurse began cleaning up the area around his bed and returning the equipment they had used during Peter's arrhythmic episode to the their rightful places in the room.

“Yes, I’m your knight, but I’ll also get another knight to stand by the door to make sure no one you don’t want in here enters. So, you can stop Stevie from coming in.” Tony joked and pointed to the nurse, who pulled a scandalised, but playful, face. 

“Who, me? I thought you liked me, Pete!” Steve whined a bit, but all in good fun. Peter giggled at the doctor and nurse poking fun at each other. 

“I like Stevie!” PETER nodded. “Stevie brings me colouring books.” He shuffled in bed so that he was sat up a bit better, and could see the room properly. “Me 'n Bon did a colouring book, did the whole thing.” 

“Oh, easy, buddy.” Steve said and raised the bed a bit so that Peter could lay back comfortably. 

“Yeah, Stevie’s real nice. But, try not to get too excited now, okay? You need to rest now.” Tony instructed and patted Peter’s outstretched hand, which he guessed was to reach for the colouring books. “Do still want this on?” The doctor asked and tapped the oxygen mask as if he was tapping the boy’s nose. With Peter’s O2 stats looking good, the oxygen mask was not a necessity, but still it might feel good to get a fresh supply of oxygen.

Peter shrugged. Having the oxygen mask strapped to his face was mildly uncomfortable, but the oxygen supply was doing a good job of keeping his heart rate steady. As Steve finished up his cleaning and quietly left the ward after waving goodbye to Peter for now, the boy looked nervously over at Doctor Stark. 

“Suh- Stay?” Peter asked, reaching out for the doctor's lab coat again. Glancing at his watch, Tony saw that his shift was actually over, so naturally the doctor felt very relieved. But, not due to the fact that he could head home, but because he had no reason not to stay by Peter’s side. 

“Yes, I’ll stay.” Tony said and pulled up a chair to sit on. He made sure to be close to Peter to hold his hand if need be. Whether that was to comfort himself or Peter, he did not know for sure. “Close your eyes now and rest. I’ll be right here.”

Peter smiled at the doctor when he took the chair that Beck previously was sat in. This time, the boy felt far safer with the caregiver sat by his bed, and instantly leaned forward to take his hand. He held up Bonbon to the doctor's face, giving him a little boop on the nose, and then tucked it under his arm so that he could fall asleep. 

“Nuh-night…” The boy mumbled, shutting his eyes with his hand still in Stark’s.

Blinking in surprise at the kiss, Tony smiled softly and snorted quietly in adoration at the boy’s antics. The boy and his stuffie truly made an iconic pair on the cardiovascular ward. 

“Sweet dreams, Peter.” The doctor wished and ran his thumb soothingly over the back of Peter’s hand in an effort to lull him to sleep. It seemed to work, as pretty quickly Peter’s heart rate slowed to a nice resting pulse. There were still some irregular jumps here and there, but Tony knew that they just needed some time for the healthy tissue to take over in the boy’s right atrium. As for the mystery surrounding Beck and Peter’s emotional trauma related to him, that would need some more investigating and even more time to heal from. And worst of all, Tony was powerless with helping Peter with that part. Or was he?


	4. Vital Question

After some extensive research, a dozen phone calls, visits upstairs to their Dean of Medicine and administration, hours of debating with himself and with some help from his coworkers, Tony made up his mind. He wanted to adopt Peter. The process would be messy, surely, but it was still worth it. The doctor had savings and he would gladly use them on a good lawyer who could make a good case for why Tony should be Peter’s caregiver. But, before he could start any of that for real, he would have to ask one vital person a very important question. And so, after his rounds, Tony made sure to have some time to drop by his favourite patient again. 

After the ordeal with Beck, Peter was far more nervous about each and every person who came into the ward. The staff at the hospital had stuck to their word and put a guard outside of his door to keep an eye on everybody who entered. The only person he was not nervous about entering was Doctor Stark, who came far more frequently after his arrhythmic episode. Peter enjoyed the extra visits, and loved the attention he got from the doctor who always made sure he felt safe. When the doctor came today, Peter was doodling on a notepad that one of the nurses had given him with a pack of crayons. 

“Hi, Peter.”

“H-Hi…” Peter blushed when the doctor approached his bedside. “I duh-d'wew a picture.” He said, flipping the notepad around to show his messy drawing of Bonbon.

“Woah, let me see!” Tony gushed and picked up the notepad to study it closer. “This is brilliant! You nailed her colour, it’s like the exact same.” The doctor praised and handed back the drawing before sitting down on the boy’s bedside. It had only been half an hour since Tony did his rounds and checked on Peter, but he had an important question he wanted to ask, without getting rushed. Peter grinned broadly when the doctor praised his drawing. 

“I liked drawing her…” Peter took the notepad back with both hands and looked at it, still smiling, before placing it to one side. He moved his legs a little to one side so that the doctor had space to sit on his bed, and took Bonbon into his arms from where she was sat on his lap while he had drawn her. “What'cha doing?” He asked the doctor, smiling up at him.

“Just messing around, you know?” Tony joked, grinning at the fact that he could make Peter laugh with such terrible jokes. However, the lighthearted atmosphere did not last long since Tony felt his urgent question burn at the tip of his tongue. “Uhm, Peter, I have an important question for you. And you must be honest with me, okay?”

Peter giggled at the doctor's joke, his toes moving under the bedsheets. When the laughter died down, Peter still had a soft smile on his face, but it faltered a little at Doctor Stark's uncertain tone. 

“Mhm... it's not bad?” The boy asked, pointing at his heart as a way of asking whether his question was to do with his health problems.

“No! Oh, no, no, it’s not about your heart.” Tony assured quickly, and just as quickly decided not to mention the symbolic meaning that the heart could have considering his vital question. That might be too much for Peter to comprehend in his littlespace. “I- okay, uhm- I’ll just ask, actually, yeah... Uhm- would you like me, as your caregiver?”

Peter blinked confusedly. He had never seen the man so flustered and nervous before, and it took a couple of seconds for the question to sink in. 

“My caregiver? You'd... you'd be my Daddy?” Peter asked, his tone becoming hopeful as a smile began spreading across his face. His entire body started squirming with excitement in bed, and he could not take his eyes off of the doctor sat in front of him.

“Yeah...” Tony grinned, not knowing what to say as he looked at Peter’s adoring and hopeful expression. The doctor’s entire body felt light, like a feather, and suddenly everything felt possible. “Would you like that?”

The boy nodded immediately, so hard that he looked like a gleeful bobblehead. 

“Me 'n... Me 'n Bon always wan'ed you to be my Daddy…” Peter admitted shyly, fiddling with the stuffie's ears. “Beck tried... t'uh be m'Daddy again but... told him no. Wan'ed you.” He said, chewing on his lip nervously. He worried that he had said too much by admitting that, but maybe telling the doctor all of this now was a good thing.

Tony did not know what to answer to first about what Peter had said, but he just looked at the boy with complete adoration. 

“I-I’ve always wanted to be your Daddy, too. But, Beck was in your file and I didn’t think I could while being your doctor and- well, we’ll sort that out.” The doctor smiled and finally had the good idea of taking Peter’s hand in his. Peter smiled even brighter when his small hand was enveloped in Doctor Stark’s, his little fingers flexing, but ultimately keeping a tight grip on the doctor’s hand. 

“You’re my Daddy...” Peter whispered to himself excitedly, his smile so bright it was almost radiant. “Do I get lemon popsicles always now?” He asked, giggling. Tony laughed out at that, not because it was terribly funny, but because he was so giddy over the fact that Peter had said yes. 

“You can get as many as you want, as long as your teeth don’t fall out.” He added with a chuckle and tapped the boy’s nose.

Peter squeaked with excitement when Doctor Stark tapped him on the nose, and caught the doctor’s hand before he could pull away. He turned the hand so that he could see the palm and placed a little kiss right in the centre of it, before pulling the hand up to his cheek and cradling his face in it. 

“Daddy...” The boy mumbled quietly, like he was getting used to the word on his tongue. It had been so long since he had called a person by their caregiving title, almost to the point of feeling alien, but the boy knew it felt right to call Doctor Stark his Daddy.

Tony’s first thought was naturally about the risk of infection when Peter kissing his hand, but it was quickly overshadowed by the sheer amount of love and protectiveness he felt for the boy. It felt like he could drown in it. 

“Little boy...” Tony whispered just as softly and moved his thumb to stroke at the boy’s cheekbone. It felt right to say it, and that was how Tony knew for sure he had made the right choice.


	5. Afternoon Rounds

Peter sat patiently as his doctor came into the ward and greeted him with a friendly smile and wave. Since the adoption process had officially begun, Stephen Strange was now Peter’s primary doctor. He liked Strange, the man was funny and always smiled when he spoke to Peter. 

“Hi!” The boy chirped as the man approached the end of his bed and picked up the chart that was hanging on the end of his bed. The boy had just finished a colouring page with Bonbon, an underwater scene with lots of colourful fish. He could not wait to show it off.

“Hi, Pete! How are you this fine morning?” Stephen asked with a drawling voice in an attempt to be funny. Some of his patients liked when he did the ‘growling’ voice, and it seemed like Peter liked it too based on the giggle he got. “Oh, what have you got there?” The doctor asked, since the colouring page was bursting with so much colour that it was impossible not to notice. Peter quickly turned the book around, and held it up so that the doctor could see. 

“Me ‘n Bon did it!” Peter said proudly, tapping his fingertips against the pages as he let Strange see his artwork. “We used up all the blue!” He laughed, pointing to the ocean background which was completely blue in colour.

“All the blue? But, blue is my favourite colour! And I wanted to colour.” The doctor whined playfully and pouted dramatically. Peter got a little nervous and guilty when Strange said he also wanted to colour, but quickly realised it was a joke and giggled along with the doctor. 

“We made the sea pretty!” The boy explained, holding up the picture one last time before placing it to one side. “You do check?”

“You really did.” Stephen agreed and then lowered his gaze to look over the latest notes in the boy’s chart. At the boy’s question, the doctor hummed in a positive reply, then put the chart aside. “I am, I’m afraid. I like you so much, Petey, that I just can’t stop bothering you.” The doctor half joked again and shot Peter a playful grin before looking at the monitors. Peter laughed at that. 

“I like you, Stephie!” The boy grinned, flopping Bonbon’s ears about as he also peered at the monitor. He could not really understand anything on the screen, but he liked the look of the squiggly lines.

“That’s good to hear.” Stephen chuckled and grabbed his stethoscope, but before he put it on Peter’s chest for a listen, he warmed up the bell. “Take some deep breaths for me.” He instructed and moved the bell systematically across the boy’s chest while listening. Peter took some deep breaths as instructed. As Strange listened to his heart, the boy pressed the pad of his thumb over Bonbon’s chest and tried to copy the movements of the doctor’s stethoscope so that he could check her heartbeat as well. 

“Good?” Peter asked the doctor after a few quiet moments.

“Yes, very good.” Stephen confirmed and pulled back with the stethoscope after finishing. “You’ve been doing really well after Tony adopted you.” The doctor pointed out after pushing the button for the blood pressure cuff to take a measurement. “It’s almost incredible how being happy also makes you healthy.” 

The boy nodded at that. 

“‘M happy cos- cos Daddy makes me happy.” Peter mumbled, wiggling his toes under the bedsheets. “Me ‘n Bon always get kisses from Da. Da says kisses make you better.”

“They definitely do. In fact...” Stephen grinned and pulled out his prescription pad from his pocket, and wrote something down quickly before handing it to Peter. “Here. Make sure your Daddy sees it when he comes after his shift.” The doctor said with a wink.

Peter took the piece of paper with wide eyes, and nodded at the doctor’s instruction. He peered down at it and erupted into giggles, seeing that it said ‘Prescription: Lots of kisses from Daddy’ written across the top of the page. The boy held the paper close to his chest and wiggled his toes again. “Stephie done checking?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Stephen said and grabbed Peter’s chart again to note down his vitals. Half way through, Tony decided to show up, still in his scrubs. Stephen smiled a bit at the thought of Tony not even wanting to change after his shift, because that would keep him from Peter longer. 

“Hey.” Tony smiled a little bashfully and went over to give Peter’s temple a kiss before turning to Stephen. “He good?” Stephen nodded his head as a yes to his coworker’s question. Peter squealed when Tony came into the room, instantly dropping the piece of paper onto his lap so that he could make grabby hands for his Daddy to come give him a kiss. 

“Da!” Peter smiled brightly, thrilled that Tony was here to see him, even though he came multiplies times every day, without fail. “Wait! No good, need puh- puh- need medicine!” He cried, making both men turn in his direction. He picked up the prescription paper and held it out for Tony to take.

“What?” Tony asked with a grin and looked down at the prescription, and quickly burst into laughter when he read what it said. “I guess I’ll administer the meds right away.” He decided and took Peter’s cheeks in his hands and smothered his face with kisses. Peter’s laughter rang around the room as his face was squished in Tony’s hands and kisses were pressed all over his face. Every time Tony moved away, the boy would whine and so the doctor would place more kisses to his face. Eventually, he also held up Bonbon so that his Daddy could give her a kiss as well. Once Peter and Bonbon were both well kissed, Tony pulled back and stroked Peter’s hair while looking at him adoringly. 

“So, Strange, I was thinking if Peter continues to remain stable for a few more days, he could go home for a while?” Tony asked while Peter let out a noise similar to a purr of contentment as Tony began stroking his hair. 

“I was just about to suggest it. Would you like to go home, Peter?” Stephen asked the boy in the hospital bed.

“Home?” The boy asked, glancing at Tony, then at Strange and back again. “And- And Daddy comes home too?” He asked nervously. He knew that Tony was busy as a doctor, but he wanted to be taken care of at home by his Daddy. Lord knows he cannot actually take care of himself properly by himself at home. 

“Yes, I’ll bring you to my home, and then we can discuss where and how you want to live.” Tony said with a soft smile, his hand still on the boy’s head cherishing his soft curls. While recovering from his procedure and arrhythmic episode, the boy had only gotten sponge baths in bed with the help of the nurses. Now that he was better, Stephen had let him take a quick shower. And Tony loved the feeling of the boy’s curls being so silky and soft.

“Wanna live with Daddy.” Peter said immediately, leaning into the touch against his scalp. His eyes fluttered shut as he had his head scratched, and he continued making soft contented noises. “Bonny does too.” He added as an afterthought.

“Then we’ll sort that out.” Tony smiled and leaned down to kiss Peter’s forehead tenderly. Considering that Beck’s caregiver role with Peter had actually legally expired due to his lack of contact for over three years, the adoption process was well under way and Peter would soon officially be Tony’s, and Tony would be Peter’s. Some would say the two of them did not know one another well enough since they have not lived together, but considering Peter’s long and frequent stays at the hospital, it was easy for Tony to make the case that they do in fact know one another. And most importantly, Tony knows Peter’s needs and has the capacity to take care of him, which could not exactly be said about Beck. 

“And I get lemon popsicles! You promised, remember?” Peter asked eagerly, but then quickly felt like he was being too pushy and demanding. He recoiled back a bit, but Tony did not let him get far, and smiled at him brightly. 

“We’ll stuff the freezer with lemon popsicles. Promise.” Tony grinned, and leaned over to kiss Peter’s forehead, and immediately the boy felt better. And this time, Peter’s heart jumped with excitement, happiness and love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all sm for reading our little story! I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during these stressful times. To help pass the time, we'd love to hear what you think of this story and any possible ideas you have if Richie and I do decide to continue this story. But, for now, thank you sm for all the support lovelies xxx


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